Photographer's Note

Walking the streets of Havana, you'll find similar scene's like this one.

In fact, its so common that you'd probably think you've already walked down this street before!

The men love to work on their cars in the streets just outside of the front door to their Casa, just as you see here.

One thing I have to point out is the lighting conditions. The streets of downtown Havana are narrow passage ways, like grids on a map...therefore, because of the narrow strips of streets, light has a hard time striking these areas.

You'll find that many of my photos, like this one, the light just can't enter the whole scene, so I hope thats ok.

I really liked the rainbow of colors along this street, and of course the men working on their car.
Hope you like it.

hi craig. now that is strange, as i was expecting anything from havana but seeing greek type houses that you can find also in western turkey (i mean the purple one with pink arches)! beautiful candid shot of a stolen moment from the daily lives of cuban people. good that you do manage shadowy alleys with your post treatment: you will need a lot this ability in narrow and dark streets of istanbul.

Hi Craig
irresistible street scene this. You must be well pleased with this shot, I know I would be. All the character, charm and grace of this fine city are here in this exquisite shot. Everything superbly sharp and delicately detailed. A tableau-fantastique!

Hi Craig,
A very good street view and I really like the soft pastel colours that you have achieved here. I checked the Google map, but I am disappointed to see that they have not been here with their street view camera...
Kind regards
Gunnar

You've taken a good decision to take the picture of people (7,185,879,347 persons on tuesday january 7th, 2014 at 17 h 40 min et 39 s!) at work in the city street. I also like the colors of the houses so meaningfull of the hot country.
Happy new year, street photographer!
CLODO

Hello Craig!
Very interesting note and even more interesting daily life picture!
You managed the difficult light so nicely!
Colors, level of sharpness, chosen pov and composition are all excellent!
A real dive into those Havana's streets!
TFS - congrats,
Cheers,
Neyvan

Well how the hell arya? Hope all's good on your side of the Orb and that you didn't work too hard over New Years. Hehehe you're right about the time difference, whenever it's Monday here, I always think it must last Thursday there...in 2012.

Hey what a shot mate! My favourite part is the light and colours on the top left hand corner. There's something really magical about it. The scene is delightful, so nice that this man still takes so much care of his old car. The architecture, which reminds me a lot of the colonial architecture you see in Asia, is a real treat and the addition of the people really jazz up the scene. you really did go on a "people shoot" in Cuba, good for you.

In the absence of your note and place reference any person from Calcutta would have mistaken this as a shot from the streets of North Calcutta where we have similar narrow lanes, old houses, relaxed lifestyle, easy going people hanging out on the streets or goning about with their daily chores.
Perfect DL shot to capture the mood and atmosphere of this place. Light is perfect and natural to the place.
Very well done! Thanks for sharing.
Regards,
Subho

Hello Craig - This is a wonderful street scene. I think you have captured the essence of life in Havana; people strolling, car washing and generally interacting with one another. I like that, it's something that has left many of our neighborhoods where people tend to live more privately and away from one another. I wonder, does relative affluence cause us to retreat from community? A lovely shot and don't you just love the pink and lilac house? It looks like a mad wedding cake! Warm regards Rosemary

Hi Craig,
You are a wonderful envoy for this beautiful country, as soon as I clicked into this, I thought wow, look at those buildings….The colors are so surreal, its almost like a Cuban version of Sesame street, and the designs of the buildings is superb. But that doesn’t take in any way from the cool street scene of the guys with cars. The sense of depth you’ve created by your chosen angle is really incredible and the whole scene has such perfect lighting.
Cheers as always
Noel

A most descriptive photo of the typical daily-life in Havana, Craig.
Nicely collected the moment, I am sure you were noticed by the man with the eyes-glasses on right, but he deliberately wasn't looking to camera.
Light gave a fine enhanced view of the facades on that side of the street, details of the old houses down the road perfectly shown in details.
Best regards,
Ike

What a great shot -- and I think you have handled the lighting here perfectly!

May I digress slightly? I have a project going and want your input, as this is the best way I have (so far, anyway) of reaching you.

As you have seen in some of my earlier posts, there is an ever-growing collection of statues along the bayside walk in La Paz, BCS, Mexico. I have not been able to find -- in English or Spanish -- any comprehensive guide that identifies the artists or provides any other basic info, so I want to create one.

We visited La Paz in December and I shot >1,000 frames of these artworks. Since our return, I have been reviewing them and processing my favorites. Today, I have posted the first cull on a website and I humbly ask you for any insight, opinions, or critiques you might offer.

I acknowledge that we live in a very busy world and I thank you in advance for any time you kindly lend to this project. Do not feel like you need to comment on or even look at every image. Likewise, please remember that I know we are friends and I have a thick skin, so there is no reason to be diplomatic -- let me know what you honestly think of these images and, as always, if you see a way they could be improved, I want to hear your ideas!

With only two exceptions, nothing has been added or removed from these images. Specifically, the stars in the sky in the images of the Mantarraya are the same light that was captured in the original exposure, although I admit they have been accentuated in post-processing. The exceptions? In one shot of the Ballena, and one shot of the Vaquitas, I have freed the sculpture from its post to allow the art to swim or fly away!

So check them out when you have the time, please? http://fotos.estudiochispa.com/?page_id=77 Also, feel free to forward this note and the URL to any of our other friends.

Hello Craig,
I heard in the news today that Cubans are now able to buy modern cars freely for the first time since the revolution in 1959. The problem is that the prices are outrageous (5 times higher than the market prices ! ) and no one can afford such a purchase. In a country where the minimum monthly wage is 20 dollars, a Cuban would need 10 0000 monthly wages to buy a new car ! Well, I suppose the old American and Soviet cars still have many days ahead of them !
This is a well caught street life shot, bright with lots going on, showing the lovely colourful architecture of Cuba. I love the vintage feel of this street scene. Well done.
Kind regards,
Christian

O.K., so much like one of your previous shots, I'm going to repeat myself...but this has such a terrific familial type of quality about it. Just a bunch of guys hanging out in the streets enjoying the camaraderie with anyone around. I really like too how this feels to put me right on site as well. I can't pinpoint the detail, but you've taken me there with this picture.

You know, I think the lack of bright light actually helps you out here, these kinds of narrow streets are always a bugger for harsh exposures. This has more of an even balance, which allows for more of those background details and colors to be seen. Man, I could wander these streets for days, look at all those textures and character. A true sense of the every day life aspect here, time to get gritty and down to earth...I love this "off the beaten path" appeal. Super cool!

Hi Craig, very good shot of this interesting scene of daily life in this ancient city, beautifully captured in this very good photograph. Interesting picture with good sharpness, depth, light and color. Very good job well done, congratulations my friend. Thanks for sharing this interesting work.

Good morning and happy rest of the week.
Best wishes from southern Spain.
Angel.

With the easing of restrictions of import of foreign cars to Cuba maybe those guys don't have to work hard to keep those classics running but then they could get a lot of money for them from collectors. Nice capture of the daily life of Cubans. Well done, tfs.

Hi, Craig,
I see your personal Map of Photographed Countries got more brown after 2013. ;) Amazing capture of a daily life on the streets of Havana. I think, if one day Cuba will wants to sell all oldtimers on an auction, perhaps it will be very rich country.
Best wishes from Russia!
Serghei

Hi Craig, very natural shot. what they do with this old car? The guy in jeans is also interested. beautiful houses in pastel colours and lovely balconies and grids -charming colonial architecture. I like it very much.

Hi Craig!
A well captured daily scene! They have the electricity just a few cms from the water and there is a lot to see here; old cars and architecture, locals on their daily life, people passing...Much life and colour here. Nice capture!